Thanks for downloading this podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Ruth Alexander.

I was reading a document that the United Nations produces about world populations recently

and that probably sounds a bit boring, but actually in it there was this amazing statistic.

There are 10 countries whose populations look in line to shrink by more than 15% by the year 2050.

And if you think about it, that's only 30 years away.

And the one thought to be facing the biggest fall is Bulgaria.

It's already shrunk by 20% over the past 30 years.

Now you tend to hear stories about why people decide to leave a country,

but we thought you don't often hear about what life like for those left behind.

So that's why I and producer John Murphy decided to travel to Bulgaria

for this week's assignment. and This voice is a rare find because it belongs to a man in his 30s who lives deep in the Bulgarian countryside,

there aren't many young people in his village, Pestura, or in any village in Bulgaria. All my friends that I grew up with here left long ago.

All my friends that I grew up with here left long ago. Stoyan Ffdomov cuts a striking figure as the leader of the local folk singing group, in part because he's tall and dressed in a traditional white woollen embroidered tunic, but also because

the rest of the choir are older ladies, whose own children, Stoyne's friends, have left the village to find work in towns and cities,

and other countries.

The United Nations estimates that Bulgaria, in the eastern Balkans, is losing people at a faster rate than any other country in the world.

I'm Ruth Alexander and for this week's assignment on the BBC World Service

I'm traveling through the deserted villages of Bulgaria

to find out what this means for those left behind. For Stoyan Efdomov it means hard choices. It's impossible to find a wife here in the village, all the villages around, simply because there are no young people.

The only chance for me to find someone is in the town

do you think there might become a point when you decide to move away from the

village and to go and live in the town in the city where more young people like you are.

...